Abstract: According to the theory of information economics, in the case of information asymmetry, by disclosing high-quality financial report audited by independent accountants, enterprises can eliminate the market friction cost of external financing caused by information asymmetry to a certain extent, and help enterprises obtain a competitive advantage in the product market. Meanwhile, the quality of accounting information is also a function of the governance of enterprises. However, most of the current literature mainly focuses on the signal role of the quality of accounting information in the capital market and its impact on the capital cost for external financing, while ignoring its signal role in the product market and its impact on the return of competitive advantage of enterprises. Using the data of listed companies in Chinese Stock Market from 2011 to 2019, this paper conducts a systematic study in the relationship between the quality of accounting information and the return of investment and the cost of capital. It is found that, consistent with theoretical expectations, the better quality of the accounting information during the reporting period, the higher the return on the investment of enterprises, and the lower the corresponding capital cost in the next year. At the same time, the positive correlation between the quality of accounting information in the current year and the return on investment in the next fiscal year, and the negative correlation between the quality of accounting information and the cost of capital have become more significant to a certain extent with the improvement of the governance of enterprises. Further research shows that high-quality accounting information can help enterprises gain the competitive advantage in the product market, build a more stable ustomer relationship, and generate a stronger bargaining power in the supply chain.

Key words: accounting information quality, return on investment, cost of capital

摘要： 信息经济学理论认为，在信息不对称的情况下，企业通过披露经独立会计师审计的高质量的财务报告，能够在一定程度上消除信息不对称带来的企业外部融资的市场摩擦成本，并帮助企业在产品市场上获得竞争优势；同时，会计信息质量也是公司治理的函数。然而，当前多数文献主要关注会计信息质量在资本市场上的信号作用以及对企业外部融资资本成本的影响，而忽视了其在产品市场上的信号作用以及由此带来的对企业投资回报率和企业竞争优势的影响。以2011~2019年的中国沪深上市公司为样本，系统研究了会计信息质量与企业投资回报率以及资本成本之间的关系。研究发现，与理论预期一致，报告期的会计信息质量越好，下一年度的企业投资回报越高，相应的资本成本也越低。同时，当前年度的会计信息质量与下一年度投资回报率的正相关关系以及资本成本的负相关关系，随着公司治理效力的提高在一定程度上变得更为显著。进一步研究表明，高质量的会计信息，能够帮助企业在产品市场上获得竞争优势，有助于企业构建更为稳定的客户关系，并在供应链上产生更强的讨价还价能力。

关键词: 会计信息质量, 投资回报率, 资本成本